A former Chunghwa Telecom customer must pay the company NT$17 million (US$55,903) in damages, after he resold 3,525 mobile phones he had purchased through preferential contracts with the telecom, the New Taipei District Court ruled last week.
The verdict in the civil case came after the man, surnamed Lin (林), was previously sentenced to one year and eight months in prison over the scheme.
Lin began illegally reselling the phones in 2016, after he set up a company that he said was conducting research into wireless charging for iPhones, the court said.
Lin, who was the company’s only employee, registered as a business customer with the telecom, and from April 2016 to August 2017 applied for 1,389 phone numbers through preferential subscription packages for business clients, the court said.
Through the subscription contracts, Lin obtained 3,525 cellphones, including iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models, paying below market prices or receiving them for free, it said.
He resold the phones to vendors and wholesale businesses at low prices, the court said.
During the 15 months, he rejected Chunghwa’s requests to visit his company, saying that he had contracts with the government and the military that do not allow its representatives to visit his premises, the court said.
Lin told the company that he could not facilitate its requests because his company has to safeguard trade secrets, it said.
The telecom became suspicious in September 2017, when Lin started to request repeatedly that the fees of his 30-month subscription packages be changed, the court said.
The telecom suspected that Lin was running a scam and reported him to police, while also filing criminal charges and civil lawsuits, it said.
In the civil case, the court ordered Lin to pay damages of NT$17.64 million, which would accrue an annual interest rate of 5 percent if he does not pay the full amount, the court said.
The previous criminal case also implicated a female employee at the telecom, who was last year sentenced to 16 months in prison for colluding with Lin.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS